Crl. A. No. 1034 of 2012. Case: Ramchandran and Ors. Vs State of Kerala. High Court of Kerala (India)
| Case Number | Crl. A. No. 1034 of 2012 |
| Counsel | For Appellant: K. Siju, Bindu George and Chithra S. Babu, Advs. and For Respondents: C.S. Hrithwik, Public Prosecutor |
| Judges | P. Ubaid, J. |
| Issue | Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC) - Section 386(b)(1); Indian Penal Code 1860, (IPC) - Sections 294(b), 304, 323, 34 |
| Judgement Date | February 01, 2017 |
| Court | High Court of Kerala (India) |
Judgment:
P. Ubaid, J.
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The appellants herein challenge the conviction and sentence against them under Section 323 IPC in S.C. No. 263 of 2009 of the Court of Session, Kollam. Pending this appeal, the 2nd appellant died. Her death was recorded in the proceedings on production of a copy of the death certificate. Charge against the 2nd accused thus abated pending the appeal.
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The three accused faced prosecution before the trial court under Sections 323 and 304 r/w. Section 34 of the IPC on the allegation of assault made by them on one Devarajan. The deceased 2nd appellant is the direct sister of the said Devarajan. The 1st appellant is the husband of deceased 2nd appellant, and the 3rd appellant is the son.
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The alleged incident happened on 26.01.2007 at about 3.00 p.m. at the Tharavadu property of the accused and the deceased. There was pending civil disputes between them at that time, concerning the properties including the Tharavadu property, wherein the alleged incident occurred.
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The prosecution case is that, when deceased Devarajan attempted to pluck a tender coconut from one of the coconut trees, the deceased 2nd appellant pulled him down. As a result of this, he fell down and collapsed. Then all the three accused dragged him to a distance.
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The crime in this case was registered on the basis of the statement given by the brother-in-law of the deceased. After investigation, the Police submitted final report under Sections 323, 294(b) and 304 IPC r/w Section 34 of the IPC in the Court of learned Judicial First Class Magistrate, Karunagappally. After complying with the procedural formalities, the learned Magistrate committed the case to the Court of Session, from where it was made over to the learned 1st Additional Sessions Court, Kollam. All the three accused, pleaded not guilty to the charge framed against them under Sections 323 and 304 of the IPC.
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The prosecution examined 13 witnesses and proved Exts. P1 to P9 documents. The defence did not adduce any oral evidence. However, Exts. D1 and D2 contradictions in the statements of the material witnesses were proved. On an appreciation of the evidence, the trial court found that Devarajan died not because of any assault made by the accused, and the cause of death was only 'Occlusive Coronary Artery Disease'. Thus the trial court found the accused not guilty under Section 304 IPC.
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However, accepting the evidence given by the material witnesses regarding some simple assault made...
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